One day 800 numbers won't mean anything as we will all have VoIP and cell phones with unlimited calling plans. In the present, 800 numbers are enhanced service offerings that VoIP service providers use to lure customers. I suppose toll-free numbers are about as commoditized as a service as there is so I am not surprised to see it as a victim of a price war. Whereas Vonage will charge you $4.99/month for this service with 60 minutes of free long-distance bundled in, BroadVoice charges you $1.95/month for the same service.

I learned about BroadVoice supplying toll-free numbers when I read the article from TMC's Johanne Torres. I wasn't too surprised about BroadVoice competing on price but to be honest, I want to see the industry spend time coming up with new services and differentiating themselves in other ways. Anyone can copy Vonage and do it cheaper and subsequently dozens of service providers are. You won't win by being the 100th service provider on a long list of me-toos.

Features such as this are great and give you an adequate baseline service offering. Don't lose site of the future, where you will need compelling service offerings to differentiate yourself... Sticky services that aren't easily duplicated. I shudder to think the industry will not choose a services war but instead a price war. If the latter happens, you will have to eventually compete with Skype on price. That is obviously a no-win game.

One day 800 numbers won't mean anything as we will all have VoIP and cell phones with unlimited calling plans. In the present, 800 numbers are enhanced service offerings that VoIP service providers use to lure customers. I suppose toll-free numbers are about as commoditized as a service as there is so I am not surprised to see it as a victim of a price war. Whereas Vonage will charge you \$4.99/month for this service with 60 minutes of free long-distance bundled in, BroadVoice charges you \$1.95/month for the same service.

I learned about BroadVoice supplying toll-free numbers when I read the article from TMC's Johanne Torres. I wasn't too surprised about BroadVoice competing on price but to be honest, I want to see the industry spend time coming up with new services and differentiating themselves in other ways. Anyone can copy Vonage and do it cheaper and subsequently dozens of service providers are. You won't win by being the 100th service provider on a long list of me-toos.

Features such as this are great and give you an adequate baseline service offering. Don't lose site of the future, where you will need compelling service offerings to differentiate yourself... Sticky services that aren't easily duplicated. I shudder to think the industry will not choose a services war but instead a price war. If the latter happens, you will have to eventually compete with Skype on price. That is obviously a no-win game.